With Jason Hall (I-QF) placed at line one and Daniel Páez Blanco (I-W) placed at line 128, provisional semi finals are set with the placing of the third and fourth seeds. Second favourite to win the French Open this year, Sven Oxenstierna (I-F) sets up a potential semi final clash with the World No. 1 as he is placed on line 33. Third seed Radek Špidlá (I-3R) has never enjoyed the clay, and his placement on line 96 puts him in Blanco's half.

The next set of five are up to determine prospective quarter final matchups with the big four. First out and placed on line 32 is Wimbledon champion Darcy Cowan (I-2R) who is short on match practice and could meet compatriot Hall in an all-American quarter final. Next out and placed at 64: József Boros (I-4R) the Hungarian seventh seed. Massive quarter final there beckons between Boros and Oxenstierna - two top quality clay court players. Placed on line 65 is Rasmus Olesen (I-2R) who could surprise a few after his great performance in Rome last Sunday. That leaves Jefferson Drake (I-3R) the eighth seed to slot in at line 97 and to face the unenviable task of Blanco in the quarters.

A packed lot of eight to set the possible fourth round opponents for the top eight seeds. Who is the most dangerous? Take your pick. Murdoch, Varga, Stewart, Daneu and Brdar have all appeared at at least one Grand Slam semi final, while Mustard, Henson and Altman are dangerous on this surface. If forced to make a decision - Murdoch.

First out at line 16 is Illya Altman (I-4R) who might meet the World No. 1 in the fourth round. His form has been awful as he tries to recover from a hamstring injury and he must find wins early. Second out at line 17 is Rick Henson (I-DNP) the dangerous American player who has won Roland Garros before in the pre-Grand Slam era. He's still not hit his straps, but this could be his big chance. Oxenstierna gets the possibility of Miroslav Brdar (I-3R) at line 48. The sixteenth seed has slumped to World No. 18 after going near the top ten, but his form has picked up recently. Rounding up the top half is Wimbledon semifinalist Zoltan Varga (I-3R) who, at line 49, could meet Boros in an all-Hungarian fourth round blockbuster.

Starting off the bottom half is fifteenth seed Oneil Stewart (I-QF). He has good results at this event, and if he can get a generous draw we all know what he's capable of if he builds up a good head of steam. Next is the tenth seed Radivoj Daneu (I-QF). Boy, talk about a guy whose stocks have fallen - down from No. 3 to No. 10. At line 81, he's still a very dangerous player when on song but his forehand is all over the shop at the moment. Luckily for him, he's nabbed World No. 3 Špidlá who is the least dangerous of the top eight on the red clay. Ho, ho, ho - line 96:Jojo Mustard (I-QF). He's been looming large on the clay despite a poor week thus far in Dusseldorf, and his placement on line 116 sets up a possible trans-CWLand clash against Jefferson Drake. Wowee. That leaves another fourth round blockbuster as Dwayne Murdoch (I-SF), a semi-finalist and the only man to beat Blanco on clay on the PTA circuit, is drawn at line 97 to set up a probable fourth round showdown with the defending champ.

Not the strongest bunch of players here, but guys like Danijel Micic and Patrick Pascaul - while inconsistent - are capable of some great things. These placings determine possible opponents for seeds 9-16 in the third round.

First out at line 9 is Danijel Micic (I-1R) who has never really found his feet at this level. He famously blew a two-sets to love lead in the fourth round in Melbourne against Blanco, and could face Altman in the third round and Hall in the fourth. Second out is eighteenth seed Diego Hurtado (I-1R) who, although only coming back from injury, is one of the best players on South American clay. Can he make the transition in Europe? At line 41 is Carlo Amato (I-4R), the Italian jet. Rounding out the top half is Italy's Antonio Bachunelli (I-4R) who plays well in France.

Opening up with a potential third round meeting with Oneil Stewart is Patrick Pascaul (I-3R) who carries the hopes and dreams of a nation on his shoulders this fortnight [/McAvaney]. Next out it is the loathsome lovable West CWLander Heath Davis (I-2R) who has inexplicably found some touch on clay. He could meet the tenth seed Daneu in the round of 32. Twentieth seed Henry Charles (I-4R) is out next for a potential third round scrap with Jojo Mustard, leaving Davis Kennedy (I-3R) to round out the pack in his return from injury. We can't imagine he'll last long after having no clay preparation except for a couple of scratchy exhibition performances.

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I don't hold out much hope of significant singles progress, but there's always the doubles to fall back on.

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A heap of withdrawals means pick of the bunch is probably Kim Vollan or Becker Haas who have been OK so far. A whole bunch of players out-of-form or woeful on this surface.

First out is 30th seed Sergio Joaquin (I-2R) who started this season like a rocket but has fizzled out as we've gone on. Then it is the 28th seed David Champion (I-1R) who makes professional tennis look so hard on this surface sometimes. Cowan isn't the worst third round opponent to have, but I'd be surprised to see the big redhead make it that far. Placed at line forty is Sanchez Emelio (I-3R) who could face Oxenstierna in the third round. Emelio is a solid hand on this surface, but has regularly been found wanting against the top few. I don't like his chances. Rounding out the top half is Becker Haas (I-4R) who has recovered well after a bad start to the year. Haas/Boros is an exciting third round prospect.

Starting the bottom half is Portugal's No. 1 Tiago Matias (I-3R). Then it is Russia's Dmitry Orlov (I-2R) who snuck in as 32nd seed and gets a sick deal with Špidlá the first seed he can face. Then it is the Norwegian Kim Vollan (I-4R) who exited in the fourth round to Dwayne Murdoch last year. Drake in the third round is another big task. Rounding it out is French No. 2 Pierre L'Estrange (I-3R). He's a bit of a roughy here, but he's been absolutely reamed by being the first seed to face Hurricane Blanco.

So there we have it, seeds placed here in Paris with play just two days away! I'll be back soon as the other 96 mugs players learn their fate.

Rob Bowenburg: Interesting. Bowenburg managed to knock off Rick Henson in Rome over three sets, and finds himself drawn against the thirteenth seed here in Paris. Best-of-five is a different task for The Lob, though, and he is coming off a weird choice to play a hard court Challenger this past week.

Scotland Rivers: Also playing the Cremona Challenger, but he should prove too good for Adem Tadić normally. That being said, Rivers is no great shakes on this surface so it could go either way. In any event, second round at best for Rivers you'd say.

Sven Oxenstierna: We analysed his seeded draw, and he starts against Paraguay's Aldo Marin in a match he should win. Kasper Buur might be a tough second round opponent, but really the tests begin in the third round.

Rick Langley: Hard draw with Kasper Buur who is a dangerous unseeded opponent on this surface. Wouldn't expect him to make it past there, but he's a slight chance.

Brett Read: Yuck. He plays tomorrow's final in Nice, but 21st seed Carlo Amato is exactly what he didn't need. Still, he's shown this week he's capable of matching these sort of guys and if he can make it through there he could seriously go far with favourable matchups in the second and third rounds.

Pierre Rose and Jason Lawley: Well the two Westerners meet in the first round after successful qualifying campaigns. In fairness, we don't know a whole lot about either of them on this surface but I think both will be pleased as punch with their draws.

Randy Banks: Lost in qualifying, but Felipe Menon is quite a nice first round opponent. Jozsef Boros is another matter, though.

The East

Ishan Narang: Not a bad start really with a winnable clash against Rafael Fernando. He had a good week in qualifying and this is a big chance for ranking points. Hurtado/Dorogan isn't an overly great matchup in the second round, but Dorogan is inconsistent while Hurtado is coming off an injury.

Marcuss Deane: The talented teenager is the youngest player in the draw, and luckily for him he's drawn Thailand's Atthaphol Sae-ul first up. Sae-ul is a good player, but this really isn't his surface and he's done everything he can to avoid playing on clay this year. From there, though, it is hard to see him advancing much further.

Heath Davis: Czech leftie Vaclav Zeman is his first round opponent and that is a pretty good test for Davis. The Westerner is still a bit iffy on the clay despite some good results, while Zeman can cause troubles on his day. Deane or Sae-ul next before his big test comes in the third against Radivoj Daneu. Davis beat him in Rome, and will fancy his chances of advancing. A pretty good section all things considering.

David Briggs: The qualifier gets a big chance to pick up a win as he faces wildcard Mikel Fosdike first. Jefferson Drake, however...

Jojo Mustard: It wasn't a good week for the fourteenth seed in Dusseldorf, and he has probably one of the most dangerous non-seeds first up against Maarten Berg. Berg made the semis in Nice (before being pantsed by Drake), and is a very game opponent and a real threat to Mustard. After that it doesn't get much easier with Viktor Vuriak coming off some solid red clay results, while a possible fourth round showdown with Drake awaits. Tough start.

The East

Jefferson Drake: Through war and famine, Drake is probably the East's only real hope here in Paris. He begins with a scrap against Heinz Hainisch which he should win, and then has a pretty simple second round matchup. His real test could come against Kim Vollan who is a Slam specialist, before a potential showdown with Jojo Mustard in the fourth round. He's hit form at the right time in Nice, and if he can beat Brett Read tomorrow it could complete a perfect preparation.

Spas Delev: Ouch. The clay season hasn't been kind to Delev, and against highly touted Spanish youngster Marc Carretero he could be in for a brutal first round matchup. If he wins that, Henry Charles is probably next and that is winnable.

Phoenix Wleft: Dwayne Murdoch first. Heh.

Jarkko Maxum: Exactly what he didn't want - the Blanco section. In reality he's got a great chance to make it to the third round with Pascal Schmidt and Pierre L'Estrange as early threats, but Blanco after that makes it tough. What's worse is that he was just one withdrawal away from a seeding which would have given him a third round clash with Radek pidlá of all people.